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The Reality of Developer Burnout

kennethreitz.org

181–190 of 191 posts

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure "solve" is the right term there. ;)

yeah, not sure about hookers, because I've never met any (and I think it actually CAN cause depression in some way IMHO), but playing games can help - especially multiplayer ones.

> not sure about hookers, because I've never met any

WHAT? 2017 and you haven't met or saw a hooker in your life? you are kidding right? well if you want to meet some without leaving your room you could just search escorts in your area, it's pretty much the same as an a hooker just more expensive, don't be afraid to try! just remember to paid them after not before.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#183
post #90
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively…

> anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it LOL come on now. It costs $5-10k to get a private pilot's license which requires at least 40 hours of flying time. Most schools will recommend that you do at least 2 hours per week, which usually comes out to $200-$400. (It's easy to forget things.) Shit's expensive.

Industry average seems to about $12k (but that's from my flight school which obviously has an incentive to make the assumed cost just a little higher than it need be).

galdosdi is 100% correct that I didn't mean it's cheap. I meant if it's something you really want to do, you can afford it without selling your car or living in a hovel.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#184
post #24
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively…

Not everyone on HN earns SV money. Best of luck in becoming a pilot!

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it's cheap. I know it's not, and statistically is prohibitively expensive for ~half of America.

What I meant was if it's a priority, you can do it without huge lifestyle sacrifices provided you make a minimum of $40-45k/yr depending on your COL. Obviously if you have a mortgage and two kids and make $50k it's probably not the best idea. If you're a single 22 year old making $45k and you live in a cheap studio? You can do it without breaking the bank.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#185
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best thing I ever did for my professional life was acquiring new interests that had nothing to do with software but were still intellectually and/or physically stimulating. Weightlifting is cheap, has proven physical and psychological benefits, and is eventually fun (sucks for the first few weeks/months though). I just recently starting taking lessons to get a private pilot's license. GA is expensive (relatively…

> (relatively - anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it) I know you mean well but this is the epitome of living in a bubble. :)

Yes that didn't come off the way I meant it. See sibling comments here :)

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#186
post #162
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learned recently that if I list a few things I am grateful for, I will instantly feel happier. It seems like it works for others as well.

Are you grateful for anything that doesn't make you happier? It sounds like you're saying that thinking about things that make you happy makes you happy, and that this is something you just learned somehow.

Yes, all things I am grateful for make me happier. But not all things that make you happier, are you grateful for.

Being grateful for something transcends being happy about that something. It's about holding in your mind, certain things that don't just make you happy, but resonate with you.

I don't, for example, think that just conjuring up the thought of a delicious ice cream cone, is going to have any lasting effect on your mood. Yet, ice cream makes me happy.

I do think that taking a moment to reflect on how lucky you are to have a family that is supportive, functional, and healthy... can definitely be a small bump, on the happiness scale.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#187
post #11

This is not developer burnout. This is Twitter burnout. "So, I unfollowed everyone on Twitter" he writes, which apparently fixed his problem. That has nothing to do with development.

Twitter can contribute to developer burnout when your feed is mostly tech-related.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#188
post #183
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> anyone on here who isn't a student can afford it LOL come on now. It costs $5-10k to get a private pilot's license which requires at least 40 hours of flying time. Most schools will recommend that you do at least 2 hours per week, which usually comes out to $200-$400. (It's easy to forget things.) Shit's expensive.

Industry average seems to about $12k (but that's from my flight school which obviously has an incentive to make the assumed cost just a little higher than it need be). galdosdi is 100% correct that I didn't mean it's cheap. I meant if it's something you really want to do, you can afford it without selling your car or living in a hovel.

Fair points. I agree!

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect, you say this as though bluntness were a virtue. I've found that putting a little bit of effort into form goes a long way in generating useful feedback. Stated otherwise, it's about recognizing that we're not talking face-to-face, and that the characteristics of this particular mode of communication make it easy to misinterpret (often for worse) what is being said. tl;dr: my favorite way to start a comme…

Respect is not a given, it's earned. If you "respect" everyone it's the same as respecting no one.

"With respect" has more to do with politeness than the form of "respect" you're suggesting.

And frankly, this brand of tough-love is really ill-adapted to semi-anonymous written discourse. I suspect the reason people appeal to it so much has less to do with its purported righteousness than the ego boost that follows from talking down to people.

Re: The Reality of Developer Burnout

#190

> Not only that, but I found myself censoring my own private thought processes, in the silent comfort of my own home, because of the public opinion of people I follow on Twitter. I deleted my Twitter account because of this. I realized it was an empty echo chamber of inaction. If anything you say can be interpreted in a way that the hivemind can destroy you over, they will do it, even with incomplete information and…

I'm having similar thoughts about my social interactions. Since I moved to Silicon Valley it's like having junk food continuously comparing to my prior relationships. Now I can either keep eating junk food or choose isolation and try not to lose my mind. This is tough.
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